Twenty African countries and the African Development Bank (AfDB) have subscribed for an initial aggregate amount of USD 830 million in share capital.

This was made known when the new and innovative infrastructure investment platform,Promoted by the African Development Bank held its Constitutive General Assembly on the July29, 2015, in Casablanca, Morocco.

Speaking at the event, President of AfDB and current Chairman of the Boards of Directors ofAfrica50, Dr Donald Kaberuka, said: "the large presence of African States and their financial commitments are a testimony to a shared vision, to find new ways to accelerate the provision of infrastructure. Africa50 will be a step change for infrastructure financing and development in Africa."

The Minister of Finance for the Kingdom of Morocco, Mr Mohamed Boussaid, stated that Africa50 is an idea whose time has come and that the Constitutive General Assembly is an important first step towards making it a reality.

The founding African countries are Benin, Cameroon, Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Gabon, Ghana,Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, and Morocco. Others are Nigeria,Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, The Gambia and Togo.